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Caster #2
Spell Starter
The Sting meets Fight Club in this magical, action-packed sequel to Caster by Elsie Chapman.
Yes, Aza Wu now has magic back. But like all things in her life, it has come at a great cost. After the tournament, Aza is able to pay off her parents' debt to Saint Willow. Unfortunately, the cost of the gathering spell she used to strip Finch of his magic has put her permanently in the employ of the gang leader. Aza has been doing little errands using real magic -- collecting debts, putting the squeeze on new businesses in the district. But that had never been the plan. Saint Willow is nothing if not ambitious and having Aza as a fighter is much more lucrative than as a fixer. Especially if she can control the outcome. Aza is going to have to put it all on the line again to get out of this situation!
Yes, Aza Wu now has magic back. But like all things in her life, it has come at a great cost. After the tournament, Aza is able to pay off her parents' debt to Saint Willow. Unfortunately, the cost of the gathering spell she used to strip Finch of his magic has put her permanently in the employ of the gang leader. Aza has been doing little errands using real magic -- collecting debts, putting the squeeze on new businesses in the district. But that had never been the plan. Saint Willow is nothing if not ambitious and having Aza as a fighter is much more lucrative than as a fixer. Especially if she can control the outcome. Aza is going to have to put it all on the line again to get out of this situation!
- GenresFantasyYoung Adult
298 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 6, 2020
5 people are currently reading
251 people want to read
About the author
Elsie Chapman
13 books353 followersHi there, Goodreads! I don't check messages or friend requests here. If you'd like to contact me, please find me at my website or on twitter. Thank you!
Elsie Chapman grew up in Prince George, Canada, and has a degree in English literature from the University of British Columbia. She is the author of the YA novels Dualed, Divided, Along the Indigo, and Caster as well as the MG novel All the Ways Home, and co-editor of A Thousand Beginnings and Endings and Hungry Hearts. She currently lives in Tokyo, Japan, with her family.
Elsie Chapman grew up in Prince George, Canada, and has a degree in English literature from the University of British Columbia. She is the author of the YA novels Dualed, Divided, Along the Indigo, and Caster as well as the MG novel All the Ways Home, and co-editor of A Thousand Beginnings and Endings and Hungry Hearts. She currently lives in Tokyo, Japan, with her family.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
Want to read
January 15, 2020I JUST FINISHED READING CASTER YESTERDAY AND NOW NEWS OF A SEQUEL THIS YEAR IS COMING RIGHT UP???? THANK THE HEAVENS FOR ELSIE CHAPMAN HUHUH (Also this comes out in my birth month huhuhuh?!?)
October 8, 2020
also found on my blog.
Disclaimer: I received an ARC from the publisher as part of the blog tour hosted by Caffeine Book Tours in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my evaluation of the book.
Listen. I need everyone to support the heck out of the Caster movie when it comes out because I need Spell Starter to be adapted as well. Like Caster, Spell Starter is dark and atmospheric and a feast for the senses and would make a visually stunning experience on the big screen.
It was interesting to see how the author built upon the world, events, and stakes of the previous book. While the primary antagonist is the same, their relationship has changed since Aza is being forced to work for Saint Willow directly, under the threat of ruining her parents’ business. Aza is once again competing in a tournament, but it’s a different situation because the tournament is run by newcomers who have a different agenda and fewer scruples than the Guild. Furthermore, Aza is using magic that isn’t hers that she struggles to control, and her goal is no longer to win but rather to earn Saint Willow money from bets on the outcome.
Aza is no longer the same person she was at the beginning of the first book. Any naivete she possessed is gone; her psyche is haunted by bitterness, guilt, and anger. As her stolen magic drives her to new lows of excruciating pain, the anger grows and the temptation of power and destruction lurks in the shadows. Watching Aza grapple with this temptation and the costs of succumbing was a visceral and immersive experience because of the evocative imagery used to describe it.
The lows caused by the magic extend beyond Aza’s mind and body, affecting the entirety of Lotusland. The magic from the casting tournament wreaks greater destruction on the city than imagined and there is an ominous sense of impending apocalypse throughout the story. The magic is unstable and unsustainable, and the power and ego of a few threaten the whole population.
One of the things I really enjoyed about the book was the new bits of worldbuilding explored through the tournament. The tournament stages are more than aesthetic plot accessories, they’re very deliberately constructed to evoke a bygone era of abundance, a nostalgic tribute to a world that they cannot return to. Clear blue skies and verdant growth exist only in illusions. The final tournament stage in particular is a resurrected image of Lotusland’s Chinatown, and the announcer explains its origins and demise. It seems to serve as a warning to the casters about the consequences of greed and hubris.
The ending is a bit open-ended, but it feels right for the story that the author’s trying to tell. Both in the story and in real life, the destruction of the world (i.e. climate change) is an ongoing process that you can either enable, whether actively or passively, or fight against, and the ending seems to ask, “what will you choose?”
Content/Trigger Warnings: blood, death, murder
Disclaimer: I received an ARC from the publisher as part of the blog tour hosted by Caffeine Book Tours in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my evaluation of the book.
Listen. I need everyone to support the heck out of the Caster movie when it comes out because I need Spell Starter to be adapted as well. Like Caster, Spell Starter is dark and atmospheric and a feast for the senses and would make a visually stunning experience on the big screen.
It was interesting to see how the author built upon the world, events, and stakes of the previous book. While the primary antagonist is the same, their relationship has changed since Aza is being forced to work for Saint Willow directly, under the threat of ruining her parents’ business. Aza is once again competing in a tournament, but it’s a different situation because the tournament is run by newcomers who have a different agenda and fewer scruples than the Guild. Furthermore, Aza is using magic that isn’t hers that she struggles to control, and her goal is no longer to win but rather to earn Saint Willow money from bets on the outcome.
Aza is no longer the same person she was at the beginning of the first book. Any naivete she possessed is gone; her psyche is haunted by bitterness, guilt, and anger. As her stolen magic drives her to new lows of excruciating pain, the anger grows and the temptation of power and destruction lurks in the shadows. Watching Aza grapple with this temptation and the costs of succumbing was a visceral and immersive experience because of the evocative imagery used to describe it.
The lows caused by the magic extend beyond Aza’s mind and body, affecting the entirety of Lotusland. The magic from the casting tournament wreaks greater destruction on the city than imagined and there is an ominous sense of impending apocalypse throughout the story. The magic is unstable and unsustainable, and the power and ego of a few threaten the whole population.
One of the things I really enjoyed about the book was the new bits of worldbuilding explored through the tournament. The tournament stages are more than aesthetic plot accessories, they’re very deliberately constructed to evoke a bygone era of abundance, a nostalgic tribute to a world that they cannot return to. Clear blue skies and verdant growth exist only in illusions. The final tournament stage in particular is a resurrected image of Lotusland’s Chinatown, and the announcer explains its origins and demise. It seems to serve as a warning to the casters about the consequences of greed and hubris.
The ending is a bit open-ended, but it feels right for the story that the author’s trying to tell. Both in the story and in real life, the destruction of the world (i.e. climate change) is an ongoing process that you can either enable, whether actively or passively, or fight against, and the ending seems to ask, “what will you choose?”
Content/Trigger Warnings: blood, death, murder
October 8, 2020
Much like its predecessor, Spell Starter took me by surprise and packed a punch – pun intended – but while Caster is very much a story about loss, Spell Starter is one of cost. Aza thought she paid the ultimate cost in getting revenge against her sister’s killer, Finch, by giving up her magic, but in this sequel, she finds that there are even more painful punishments to bear. Spell Starter takes a darker turn as Aza is suddenly forced to participate in a new tournament at Saint Willow’s bidding, and is even more relevant as it tackles environmentalism and greed.
Throughout Spell Starter, Aza struggles. She struggles with her new magic, she struggles with her grief for Shire, and she struggles with the person she’s starting to become under Saint Willow’s employment. No matter how much Aza tells herself that she is fighting in the tournament against her will and that she has no other choice, it does little to relieve any of the guilt she’s feeling. Aza is trying to be fine, both for herself and her parents, but whether she’s ready to acknowledge it or not, she’s now coping with the loss of multiple things. Aza has lost Shire, Kylin, and her magic, and she’s not sure how to start moving forward – if she even can.
You can read my full review here: https://loveyoshelf.com/2020/10/08/bl...
Throughout Spell Starter, Aza struggles. She struggles with her new magic, she struggles with her grief for Shire, and she struggles with the person she’s starting to become under Saint Willow’s employment. No matter how much Aza tells herself that she is fighting in the tournament against her will and that she has no other choice, it does little to relieve any of the guilt she’s feeling. Aza is trying to be fine, both for herself and her parents, but whether she’s ready to acknowledge it or not, she’s now coping with the loss of multiple things. Aza has lost Shire, Kylin, and her magic, and she’s not sure how to start moving forward – if she even can.
You can read my full review here: https://loveyoshelf.com/2020/10/08/bl...
October 19, 2020
(Disclaimer: I received this book from Edelweiss. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
Spell Starter was one of my most highly anticipated sequels of 2020. Magical fighting rings, environmental destruction, and more? Caster is such a fabulous book full of quests for family and compromise. And so maybe my disappointment is partly my own fault for expectations? If you loved Caster, you can expect much of the same themes: family, environmental destruction, and ethics. Aza is faced with even more choices that have disastrous consequences. Now that she knows more than ever before, the true weight of her decisions and costs make themselves clear to her. Spell Starter is a story about choice. There are so many times we feel like we had no choice, where we are backed up against a wall, and we've got to ask ourselves, do we truly have no other choice? Do we just want the illusion of control?
Yet, I felt like Spell Starter has these kernels I wanted more from throughout the story. The environmental destruction of magic is a huge theme I was expecting more of due to its truly disastrous consequences. And while it was certainly touched upon, I just was craving a bit more depth and introspection about the future of the city. There were also some plot elements I felt like were wrapped up quite suddenly without a lot of space for reflection or introspection. In general, I felt like the whole thing could have used a bit more space to grow and expand.
Yet, I felt like Spell Starter has these kernels I wanted more from throughout the story. The environmental destruction of magic is a huge theme I was expecting more of due to its truly disastrous consequences. And while it was certainly touched upon, I just was craving a bit more depth and introspection about the future of the city. There were also some plot elements I felt like were wrapped up quite suddenly without a lot of space for reflection or introspection. In general, I felt like the whole thing could have used a bit more space to grow and expand.
full review: https://utopia-state-of-mind.com/revi...
Spell Starter was one of my most highly anticipated sequels of 2020. Magical fighting rings, environmental destruction, and more? Caster is such a fabulous book full of quests for family and compromise. And so maybe my disappointment is partly my own fault for expectations? If you loved Caster, you can expect much of the same themes: family, environmental destruction, and ethics. Aza is faced with even more choices that have disastrous consequences. Now that she knows more than ever before, the true weight of her decisions and costs make themselves clear to her. Spell Starter is a story about choice. There are so many times we feel like we had no choice, where we are backed up against a wall, and we've got to ask ourselves, do we truly have no other choice? Do we just want the illusion of control?
Yet, I felt like Spell Starter has these kernels I wanted more from throughout the story. The environmental destruction of magic is a huge theme I was expecting more of due to its truly disastrous consequences. And while it was certainly touched upon, I just was craving a bit more depth and introspection about the future of the city. There were also some plot elements I felt like were wrapped up quite suddenly without a lot of space for reflection or introspection. In general, I felt like the whole thing could have used a bit more space to grow and expand.
Yet, I felt like Spell Starter has these kernels I wanted more from throughout the story. The environmental destruction of magic is a huge theme I was expecting more of due to its truly disastrous consequences. And while it was certainly touched upon, I just was craving a bit more depth and introspection about the future of the city. There were also some plot elements I felt like were wrapped up quite suddenly without a lot of space for reflection or introspection. In general, I felt like the whole thing could have used a bit more space to grow and expand.
full review: https://utopia-state-of-mind.com/revi...
September 26, 2021
Can't quite pinpoint why, but despite the action-packed tournaments and brutal casting, I felt distanced from the story and from Aza herself. Maybe if I had reread Caster before starting the second book? The grittiness and painful feedback from casting her new magic became a bit monotonous. Jihen's cheesy monologues were entertaining at first but then equally dragged.
Still was intriguing but wasn't as hard-hitting as Caster, and I still can't tell what the difference was between the two. Maybe how beaten down Aza is or that it's covering the fallout from book one rather than a shocking new twist?
The flickerings of romance weren't bad and Oliver seemed perfectly pleasant.
Still was intriguing but wasn't as hard-hitting as Caster, and I still can't tell what the difference was between the two. Maybe how beaten down Aza is or that it's covering the fallout from book one rather than a shocking new twist?
The flickerings of romance weren't bad and Oliver seemed perfectly pleasant.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Want to read
May 8, 2020Ahhh! I can't wait to read this! I loved Caster!
October 7, 2020
Spell Starter is a great sequel to Caster! It really develops the world and magic of Caster, pushing the themes of sacrifice and consequence that were so important in Caster. I really enjoyed how the environment became its own character in this sequel, and how Chapman uses the environment to tell the histories of the world Aza lives in. I found Aza's interpersonal conflict really compelling, and people's reactions to her very realistic and true to them and the world. I also loved how Aza truly pays for the consequences of her actions, and Chapman doesn't pull any punches.
The pace was fast and engaging, however I found the climax and wrap up a little bit too fast to be fully enjoyable. I also felt the romance element was a bit lackluster. However, that didn't diminish my enjoyment of the work, and I do think Spell Starter is definitely a sequel that will not disappoint any fans of the original book.
*I received an ARC of this book thanks to Caffeine Book Tours.*
The pace was fast and engaging, however I found the climax and wrap up a little bit too fast to be fully enjoyable. I also felt the romance element was a bit lackluster. However, that didn't diminish my enjoyment of the work, and I do think Spell Starter is definitely a sequel that will not disappoint any fans of the original book.
*I received an ARC of this book thanks to Caffeine Book Tours.*
October 6, 2020
*I received a complimentary copy of Spell Starter from Caffiene Book Tours and the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.**
Spell Starter is Elsie Chapman’s sequel to Caster. While I didn’t read the first book, I immensely enjoyed this story! The first few chapters offers a glimpse of Aza’s backstory leading up to her current state. Thus, I was able to follow along her struggles and connections while reading. This magical adventure certainly took me for an exciting ride!
Furthermore, Spell Starter involves a fighter struggling to rectify the past. Aza is bound to her enemy, yet seeks a pathway to freedom. Her families’ livelihood and good name are both on the line. As a result, Aza is caught in a bind between servitude and redemption.
Spell Starter is a thrilling book! If you love magical stories with strong female characters, this is the book for you!
Spell Starter is Elsie Chapman’s sequel to Caster. While I didn’t read the first book, I immensely enjoyed this story! The first few chapters offers a glimpse of Aza’s backstory leading up to her current state. Thus, I was able to follow along her struggles and connections while reading. This magical adventure certainly took me for an exciting ride!
Furthermore, Spell Starter involves a fighter struggling to rectify the past. Aza is bound to her enemy, yet seeks a pathway to freedom. Her families’ livelihood and good name are both on the line. As a result, Aza is caught in a bind between servitude and redemption.
Spell Starter is a thrilling book! If you love magical stories with strong female characters, this is the book for you!
January 18, 2023
I was really looking forward to reading this because of how much I enjoyed the last book. I was disappointed in the plot, though I like the concept and the world. In the last book, I found Aza’s success a bit unbelievable, and in this book, she just could not catch a break and it was frustrating! The ending was lacklustre also. I purchased the hardcover.
April 1, 2025
This was part of a book exchange, but it sounded good to me, despite not being of my choosing. I didn't realize that it was the second book, but I don't think I would've read this one if I started with the first. No one had any characterization, other than one minor henchman. I felt myself rooting for that morally dubious guy more than any other character.
October 9, 2020
If you enjoy stories revolving around family, magical tournaments, morally grey characters and dark magic, then Spell Starter is for you.
Here's my review + some fanart I did :) https://booksonpointe.wordpress.com/2...
Here's my review + some fanart I did :) https://booksonpointe.wordpress.com/2...
December 2, 2020
I enjoyed this second installment.
Language: 0/5
Violence: 2/5 (violence happens in the tournaments)
Romance: 1/5
Language: 0/5
Violence: 2/5 (violence happens in the tournaments)
Romance: 1/5
November 15, 2021
Recommended for readers in grades 9+.
3.5 stars
3.5 stars
September 2, 2023
Not as good as Caster, I wish the author would’ve done something a bit different with book #2, just felt like a re-hash of book #1. Still worth the read, still a great series
April 29, 2021
While I liked this sequel,I felt it dragged in places. But this is still an amazing duology that deserves much more love than it's getting.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews